An independent, peer reviewed journal for policy makers and practitioners in agriculture and related industries, assessing the interactions between population growth, resources, the environment and climate change.

Author: Steven Tompkins

Abstract
Cultivated land can only be left ‘idle’ temporarily; after a time the carbon sequestered by land left idle renders it unviable for re-cultivation without excessive carbon dioxide emissions. Depending on the increase in carbon footprints of crop products deemed to be acceptable, estimates from FAO cropping data appear to indicate that there were 19- 48 Mha of idle land suitable for return to cultivation in 2007. This represents 1.3 – 3.3% of the global arable area, which could …